Quintana Roo, Mexico — With the goal of attracting investment and accelerating the installation of companies dedicated to transforming sargassum into sustainable products, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) has announced the simplification of environmental procedures in Quintana Roo as part of the project for the Comprehensive Sargassum Sanitation and Circular Economy Center.
This was announced by Germán Ruiz, a member of the General Directorate of Urban and Environmental Promotion and Performance of the federal agency.
The official explained that this decision stems from the efforts made by Governor Mara Lezama to promote a sustainable model that transforms the massive arrival of the seaweed into an economic and environmental value chain.
"It is a comprehensive project we are working on precisely to address this problem in the state; one of the strategic axes involves incentives and administrative facilities for companies to set up operations," stated the official.
According to Semarnat, these incentives include infrastructure, development of facilities, and the simplification of environmental procedures. To this end, the agency will work in a coordinated manner with the State Government and municipal authorities to expedite permits and establish common guidelines.
He also explained that the project is linked to the General Law for the Prevention and Comprehensive Management of Waste, as well as the federal decree for the creation of circular economy development hubs. These hubs will operate as special economic zones where companies dedicated to the valorization of sargassum can be concentrated.
"Sargassum has different potential uses: it can be used for energy, and there are many regional projects here that create materials. The idea is for all these companies to be concentrated in a single location and, furthermore, to have fiscal incentives and a specific area for research and development," he detailed.
He added that currently, the legal jurisdiction over sargassum management falls to the state government with the support of the Federation, as it is a special management waste. However, Semarnat advanced that the new development hub will allow for the integration of federal, state, and municipal regulations and permits into a single operational framework.
"In Quintana Roo, one of the priorities is sargassum. We are working with the governor on a hub that specifically addresses sargassum management. The Secretary is pushing hard, along with the National Fisheries Institute, so that sargassum can also be valorized. We are also working with the Secretary of State and the governor to establish this circular economy hub, which will be specific for sargassum," he affirmed.
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